


Interception

by buriedandreset



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: PTSD Triggers, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:13:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25372933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buriedandreset/pseuds/buriedandreset
Summary: Wraith suffers a PTSD-related anxiety attack, and when she reaches out for help, none comes. This leaves her useless in the Apex Games the next day. After Alexander carts Natalie off to help him with some experiment, Loba steps in to help Wraith. After all, she knows the signs of PTSD when she sees them. But Loba quickly begins to wonder if there is more at play here. Only time will tell.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Interception

**Author's Note:**

> I had initially intended this story to be a DarkSparks one, but right now it could be VoidWolf or even end up with Natalie, Wraith and Loba becoming a threesome. You will simply have to keep reading the chapters to find out what happens!

There had been so much going on of late that it was hard to keep up with it all. Wraith had made certain that Natalie had gone somewhere quiet to decompress after the arguing that had ensued when Crypto’s drone had gotten hacked. She stayed with her to make sure Revenant didn’t come bothering her again, even to the point of ignoring Makoa’s call to return to Elliot’s bar. At least until Natalie told her to go, that she’d be okay.

They’d gotten the last piece of the artifact and now things only got stranger. Wraith had said they should destroy whatever this was, but after putting the head back on that body, she had so many more questions. Olympus? And who exactly was this simulacrum they’d apparently helped to reconstruct?

But there was little time to dwell on it because another round of the Apex Games came up. Wraith was teamed up with Bloodhound and Pathfinder. Kings Canyon these days left a sour taste in her mouth. Those charge towers made her skin crawl. Something clawed at the back of her mind every time she caught sight of one, something familiar and yet she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. It elicited pain and brought things she’d rather forget to the forefront of her mind. Bloodhound used it while she’d been standing not that far away and she felt pain jolt through her, though not from the tower itself, but from memories that haunted her.

After an inquiry from Pathfinder, she assured him she was fine and moved on with the match. While she was in the arena, she could push her memories and trauma aside as her attention was solely focused on the match. But outside the arena was a different story.

Sleep was never something that came easily to Wraith. It was a byproduct from her time in the IMC facility combined with the voices in her head. The voices could wake her from sleep, and the staff regularly interrupted her sleep to run more tests on her. On a good day she would sleep fitfully. On a bad day, she wouldn’t sleep at all.

Tonight was going to be closer to a bad day.

Wraith sat in the corner of her room as memories flashed through her mind. Her fingers dug into her hair and anxiety gripped her as she remembered being strapped into something and getting zapped with energy.

It was too much to take and she needed company, someone to take her mind off of the memories. Wraith wasn’t one to ask for help, but Natalie had told her she could call her whenever she wanted. Considering Natalie’s presence always kept Wraith calm, she decided to call her. However, the call went unanswered. Not unexpected, Wraith realized, considering it was late. Natalie was probably asleep, and Wraith wasn’t going to risk disturbing her any further. She’d just handle it on her own, which was to say she’d relive the flashbacks and eventually be able to shove everything back down inside.

Sleep never came for Wraith that night, and she needed a couple cups of coffee to feel even remotely human in the morning. She went about her usual routine before it was time for another of the Games. This time, she was paired with Wattson and Loba.

“Oh, this is exciting! Girl squad!” Wattson exclaimed happily. Loba just chuckled.

“Someone’s certainly excited to get into the arena today,” Loba commented.

“I am ec- _static_ to get into the arena. Get it?” Wattson giggled.

Wraith, however, was mostly in her own world. Loba glanced at her, noting how she looked tired. It was something she knew all too well herself. There were nights when Loba wasn’t able to sleep either, and Wraith had all the telltale signs.

“Are you sure you should be going into the arena?” Loba asked Wraith.

Wraith looked over at Loba. “I’m fine. Let’s just get this done.”

Wattson looked at Wraith, a little frown crossing her face. She knew that Wraith wasn’t exactly the most peppy person, but she tended to at least be a little less defensive than that. For the moment, she’d simply think that Wraith hadn’t had enough coffee to properly wake up yet.

The match began and things were going alright. At least until the first firefight they got into. Wraith was the first one to get downed, and she crawled behind cover before Wattson came over and managed to revive her while Loba gave covering fire. After healing up, Wraith tried to help out, only to get downed again.

Wattson had fenced off a fortification for them that Wraith crawled into and Loba revived her. They managed to win the fight, grabbed their loot and moved on as the ring was on the move. However, the next fight, Wraith got downed first again. Loba pulled the revive and once Wraith was back on her feet, Loba set a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Okay, I know you’re not actually fine, I know the telltale signs. But right now, I need you to get your head in the game because we need your help.” Loba stated. She wasn’t angry at Wraith, but she was trying to prod her into performing better. This was a team effort, after all.

“Yeah, okay.” Wraith said with a nod, and did her best to shake off the memories that clawed at her.

_Sniper. Move!_

“I think there’s a sniper in the area!” Wraith called as she moved. It was a good thing because a bullet whizzed by her head. “I’m setting a portal for us.” Wraith focused and started punching a tunnel for them to get out of there. She also phased to hopefully not get shot in the process of repositioning. However, when her portal opened, she realized she’d just portaled them into yet another team.

Wraith went down, and quickly thereafter they were eliminated. Of course, Wraith felt that it had been her fault and she was silently berating herself for it when Natalie came up to her.

“Hey, don’t look so glum. We can’t win them all. Tomorrow’s a new day!” She said with a warm smile. Wraith looked at her and it was hard not to find that positivity infectious.

“Thanks,” Wraith responded, managing a slight smile.

“Why don’t we go get something to eat?” Natalie asked.

“I’d like that.” Wraith really would like the company more than the food, but she wouldn’t say no to eating. At least until Alexander suddenly loomed up behind Natalie, giving Wraith a rather pointed look.

“Ms. Paquette, I require your assistance with an experiment.” He stated, turning his attention to Natalie.

“Oh, I was just going to go get something to eat with Wraith. Perhaps after I can join you?” Natalie suggested, assuming the experiment wasn’t time sensitive.

“I am afraid that it cannot wait. The results are time sensitive and your expertise is needed to make sense of them.”

“Oh, in that case, of course!” Natalie turned back to Wraith. “I’m sorry, perhaps another time? It seems Dr. Caustic needs my help in the lab.”

“No problem.” Wraith said with a nod, then simply watched as Natalie bounded off with Alexander. Though before they disappeared, Alexander gave Wraith a look that made her blood run cold. It was a look similar to the ones the people at the IMC facility had when they looked at her. They’d looked at her like she was a test subject and not a person.

“Never trust a man who looks at people like they’re variables in an experiment,” Loba commented. She’d witnessed that and noted how Alexander had looked at Wraith. She turned her gaze back to Wraith. “You look like you could use a drink. Mind if I buy you one?” She offered.

“Alright,” she responded after a moment. Loba wasn’t exactly her favorite person, especially after Natalie had gotten hurt while collecting a piece of the artifact, but right now she’d take her company. Loba at least didn’t set off the danger signals in her head.

They headed off to a bar where Loba ordered herself a martini and Wraith ordered her typical appletini. They sat at a table, and Loba studied Wraith for some moments after they ordered their drinks.

“So, I know what you do to people who tease you about your drink of choice, but may I ask why you like appletinis without getting kicked in the proverbial balls?” Loba asked. Wraith looked at her, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“I like apples, and I like the sweetness of it. I don’t really like the taste of hard liquor without something else diluting it.” Wraith explained.

“Fair enough. Though I have to say, nice job on the last guy who made fun of you for drinking that. Some people just have to learn the hard way.” Loba chuckled. It had been a sight to see when Wraith had kicked the guy’s ass at Elliot’s bar over the appletini. And she did like a strong woman who didn’t hesitate to kick ass when she needed to.

“Some people just have it coming,” Wraith responded with more of her usual deadpan, scathing humor. That didn’t go unnoticed by Loba. She may not know Wraith overly well, but she’d become accustomed to that deadpan, scathing and sometimes dry humor. And, well, her plan for trying to help Wraith feel better seemed to be working. Hopefully whatever the other woman’s mind had been stuck on was letting go for the time being.

“I can’t argue with that,” Loba responded with a smirk. She leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs. She wasn’t about to directly ask Wraith what was wrong, she knew she wouldn’t get an actual answer. So instead, Loba was offering some company and distraction. Especially since Natalie had been usurped by Alexander, something that Loba also noted. The man seemed to have appeared rather quickly after Natalie had asked Wraith to eat.

Though to Loba’s ears, that had actually been Natalie asking Wraith on a date. One that Wraith had accepted. Something else to file away for later. For now, Loba would simply observe and see what happened. It was at least something potentially interesting and better than sitting and trying to figure out what she was going to do about Revenant. That was a twist that she didn’t know what she’d do. If she killed Revenant, they’d both get what they want. If she didn’t kill him, neither of them got what they want. It would continue to torture to Revenant to make him live. But it would also potentially leave him to kill others and leave other little girls without their parents, and Loba didn’t necessarily want to do that.

It seemed that both of them had some issues to work through. Or ignore, so Loba was more than happy to provide some friendly chatter to help keep both of their minds off of what troubled them.

“I should probably be going. I should try to get some rest,” Wraith finally said after sitting with Loba for a couple hours.

“Of course. Thank you for keeping me company. And don’t dwell on what happened in the arena today. We’ll get them next time, beautiful,” Loba noted with a wink and a smile.

Wraith gave her a nod as she stood up. “Thanks. And we will.” Wraith gave her a little smile before she turned and headed off. She didn’t know if she’d actually find sleep at all, but Wraith was at least less on edge now. Though she thought about giving Natalie a call, but ultimately she decided against it. She knew how she got when getting involved in projects, she was probably too busy doing whatever it was she did with Alexander to talk.

Wraith eventually laid down, and she did find sleep, but it was fitful at best. But it was at least more sleep than she’d gotten the night before. While she didn’t feel rested the next morning, she at least was a little more with it than the previous day. She tried to call Natalie, but again got no answer. Wraith sighed softly, but figured Natalie could still be asleep. She might’ve been up late doing experiments or working on a new project. So Wraith decided to just go about her daily exercise routine to keep herself in shape for the Games.

Meanwhile, Alexander glanced at his computer screen. He gave a little nod of satisfaction. He’d successfully interrupted the calls Wraith had tried to give to Natalie. And he’d also blocked the one Natalie had tried to place to Wraith. Things were going according to his plan.

Though was it a plan, or was he conducting a social experiment? There was a fine line between the two, and it was yet unclear which side of that line that the scientist came down on. He’d already taken care of the Crypto variable. Now it was time to take care of the Wraith variable.


End file.
